Rial Shif is an agent of the Jedi. You could walk around the Jedi Temple in Coruscant and ask everyone if they’ve ever heard the name Rial Shif. The answer from almost all of those present would be no and a quizzical look as to where you got that name from.

Rial Shif is as close to a Dark Jedi as you’ve ever met without falling over the precipice of the Dark Side. His teachings were considered far too borderline – edging into powerful and long hidden dark aspects of the force – to be allowed to teach the younglings. However Jedi Master Yoda understands the good in Rial Shif. His trust in Shif means he has found a unique position within the order. He wanders the space lanes, mostly out on the outer rim practicing his own brand of Jedi justice. Always short of brutal, Shif is an exacting and intimidating Jedi. All those that have crossed him have discovered that. To their cost.

Some characters become significantly more interesting unexpectedly. Originally a secondary character brought in to resolve a plot and create a background for what I thought was a more interesting figure. No so. Ba Na Newlon has consistently shaped up as an increasingly fascinating character and more than that, a saviour of many Jedi. A matriarchal figure in the plot, Ba Na Newlon is a stable hand in the middle of chaos.

Potentially the most well rounded and most fascinating character of the bunch – her journey might be one of shortest however is recognisable to anyone who has ever known a driven matriarch (not necessarily with force powers).

As the idea of the Lost Jedi developed some of the characters grew increasingly interesting story lines. As a hypothetical plot it was great experience in tying together multiple character plots. As each disparate character finds another (or doesn’t in some cases) the plot forms itself. I realise there’s a bunch of ways that you can write, however, to begin with at least – if I ever get the chance to write – it’ll start with the characters and bleed outwards.

Ca De Nas (Cristian Cadenas) is a master of arms for the Jedi. One of the foremost trainers of Lightsabre technique in the galaxy, Ca De Nas is based on Coruscant at the time of Order 66. A trainer of Anakin Skywalker in the years prior to the Clone Wars, Ca De Nas tried to impart the wisdom of open hand techniques in battle and introduce mercy, guile and non-fatal attacks. Anakin struggles to fight his teacher for a time, until fury takes hold. Ca De Nas instinctively held back some of the techniques taught to all Padawans at Master Yoda’s request and Obi Wan’s agreement until he had demonstrated greater control of his temper. Ca De Nas’ capacity for guile and adaptability make him a difficult opponent and a respected warrior in the Jedi ranks.

We here at Beyond want your perusing experience to be an easy one. With that in mind we’re developing up some more banners for you to punch as soon as you’ve figured out what you like best. They’ll be appearing here and there – mostly Moon stuff to highlight events regarding ol’ chalk face. These are testers. Let us know what you think.

Jedi Master Govija Kaoli (Jack Gavin) is a whip crack smart tactician who always gets every body killed. Always put at the sharp end because of his calm exterior, Govija Kaoli has only one true Achilles heel. His Padawan Mooba Choobi. Having been assigned an idiot nephew to the successful Hooba Choobi, Govija finds his path immeasurably blocked by the affable buffoon. Govija is a kind hearted warrior with almost immeasurable patience and a wry view of the universe but even he is uncertain whether his strong Jedi intuition and piloting abilities will help him survive alongside such an incredible idiot.

A glitch in the force, Rial Shif (Alistair Reith) is a Jedi Knight of the highest capability but troubled with bouts of darkness and anger. His gruff exterior hides an honourable and honest Jedi but his manner found him at odds with many in the Jedi Order. He chose the path of Jedi Ronin, wandering the space lanes and bringing the path of the Jedi to the darkest recesses of the universe. His movements go unreported and undirected, Master Yoda and Windu trusting his innate judgment implicitly. With the onset of Order 66, no evidence of Shif existed in the archives – a secret that Yoda and Windu would take to their respective paths. His mission becomes a new one. The identification and protection of Lost Jedi and the reinstatement of the Jedi Order. Incredibly powerful with enormous psychokinetic powers as well as a cool and efficient capacity for dispatching his enemies, Shif is the closest thing to a Dark Jedi without having tipped irrevocably over the edge.

You may recognise Alistair Reith as the basis for our disreputable, hard boiled partner to Moon in BTB’s flagship title. He just looks right as a hard bitten, gruff warrior on the edge of the cause he’s fighting for. An, quite frankly, he’d agree with us.

Darth Sidious, of course perfectly embodied by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films was for us played by Marcus Sinclair. A singular individual its hard to imagine anybody who embodied more perfectly all that Sidious was. His impression of him was incredible. Sinclair appeared in front of a review board of Lucasarts representatives to confirm that he could play the part and it was in no way a sure thing. There was deep concern from Lucasarts that no recognisable characters be represented live to an audience out of fear that it would undermine the event. The only exceptions were, of course Vader and the Storm Troopers. Sinclair’s performance was certainly impressive enough to get them on board and we had our evil emperor. The only real problem was that he rarely dropped out of character. Nefarious, calculating and naughty to the last, Sinclair became a genuine thorn in the side of any actor dressed as a Jedi. Utilising the mighty Vader (Daniel Vivien) throughout his reign of terror, all the actors could do when faced with him was fall before him. I took a pummelling on day one frankly. Occassionally, with the aid of force pushes from the assembled public he would be defeated but even then he rarely gave up. Marcus Sinclair, we salute you, you really are an evil little sith!! 😉

The most layered and complex design I had attempted up until this point, the battle for Ipris Kii was the clearest scenario I had in my head. A coastal fortification under heavy assault from the Galactic Senates Forces (Clone Troopers led by Jedi). The incursion is through heavy cloud cover and among the assembled warriors are Howsi Stigos and her Master, Hollan Fry, a Sauron Jedi. As Hollan attempts to chastise her padawan in responsible use of the force the Dropship is struck by a missile. Hollan is killed on impact. Howsi Stigos survives the impact into the sea and fights her way to shore only to find enormous resistance. The scene depicted here is the moment prior to Order 66 being granted, with Howsi trapped between two warring factions, both about to be hell bent on killing her.

I’m not completely happy with it as some of the layers are not fully incorporated into the image but as a starter I found it reassuring that I wasn’t entirely lost in the composition of the piece.

Jedi Master Ba-Na Newlon (Tash Banks) is a Master without a Padawan. With a strong connection to the force and all other living things, Ba-Na Newlon succeeds in tracking down an errant and captured young Padawan held by a terrorist cell on a dust planet in the outer rim. Strong willed, empathic and with a commanding presence, Ba-Na Newlon is however a soothing and calm presence, caring and nurturing. She too has chosen to wander about the space lanes, a choice made thanks to her close connection with the stern wandering Jedi Rial Shif. A calming influence over the hard bitten Rial, Ba-Na Newlon attempts to guide newfound Lost Jedi throughout the galaxy to a safe haven. If only she could figure out where that is…